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Closing out September

I finished the month with 12 completed pieces – 6 shawls and 6 scarves; all in rayon chenille.

As always, reds are very hard to photograph. I struggled to get pix that I thought were reasonably accurate in color. I did a run of 3 scarves I’m calling Pop of Red.

red chenille scarf, draped

There are 3 different solids and 1 variegated red in the warp. Each of the scarves has a different solid weft.

3 red chenille scarves

Like all rayon chenille, these scarves have a marvelous drape and sheen.

red chenille scarf, tied

They’ll keep you warm when the cold winds blow. And if life slows down enough, I’ll put them up in my Etsy store.

red chenille scarf, keyhole

The blue scarves, which I’m calling My Favorite Jeans, use the same variegated yarn for both warp and weft.

favorite jeans scarf, flat

Surprisingly, these were even harder to photograph than the reds. No matter what I did when they were draped on Dolly they turned black and basically disappeared. So unless I can figure something else out for pictures, these will not go up on Etsy.

favorite jeans scarf, tied

I mentioned last time that I was working on a final run of 2 rayon chenille shawls. These go from a blue-ish silver to deep royal purple. I’m calling them Midnight Moon.

midnight moon shawl, front

I purposely made this quite a lot longer than usual so that I could do that center back angled seam and still have enough in the front to drape it over your shoulder.

midnight moon shawl, front, drape

Before I sewed the seam I spent hours with some inexpensive doubleknit fabric I bought so I could try out different seaming and draping styles. I had decided that I didn’t really like the pointiness that came with the dart-like structure I’d used in the first two. After much playing I decided I’d take a tuck at the bottom; even though I knew that the chenille was much thicker than the doubleknit, I also knew it was better than the point.

midnight moon shawl, tuck

Here’s the back of the shawl. I’m happy with it.

midnight moon shawl, back

I didn’t remember to take a photo of the rayon chenille Midnight Moon piece that I sent to the Roycroft campus. It was an unusual length because I made a mistake I haven’t made in years – I forgot to allow for takeup in my measurement, so ran out of warp. My piece ended up roughly 21″ wide and 54″ long. I sewed it into something that I called a versatile cowl-wrap. I made a separate little card for it outlining some of the ways it could be worn: a single drape around the neck; include your shoulders for added warmth; bring it up over your neck for a hood; use a brooch to wrap it closer around your neck; wrap twice around your neck for lots of thickness.

UPDATE: I found a bunch of photos of that cowl-wrap on my phone. Here you go.

cowl-wrap single drape

cowl-wrap with shoulders 1

cowl-wrap with shoulders 2

cowl-wrap with brooch

cowl-wrap doubled

I’m moving on to other fibers now, and returning to some hand painting. I hope I can hit my monthly goal for October.

Parting shot: THAT DARNED SQUIRREL!
squirrel-eaten canteloupe

4 comments to Closing out September

  • Alma

    You have been BUS-y!

  • Peg Cherre

    Thanks, Theresa & Judy. Yeah, the red scarves are swell.

    Regarding a tassel, hmmmm….I’d have to really think about that. And I’d have to make it out of wool or something other than the rayon chenille that the shawl is made of. I don’t know……….

    I have way fewer squirrels in my yard with that huge maple tree down, so I guess I just have to accommodate some sharing.

  • Judy T

    LOVE those reds and those blues!

    You know what Grandpa would have done with that squirrel : )

  • OMG, that red scarf is stunning. So elegant! Hmm, I like the final tuck on the shawl, wouldn’t it be fun to add a tassel?
    Congrats on being so productive.

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